Prep Girls Hoops: NIC-10's best battle it out in same regional

Sunday

Feb 16, 2014 at 6:00 PM

By Matt TrowbridgeRockford Register Star

It's not just the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage that makes Hononegah the favorite in the Class 4A Rockton Regional, which begins Monday. There is also the Indians' 63-1 conference record the past four years.

But this five-team, all-NIC-10 girls basketball regional could be the most competitive in years. The top three seeds all have at least 20 wins and were separated by only one game in the NIC-10 standings.

No. 2 seed Auburn (20-6, 14-2) won a school-record 14 conference games, split with Boylan and lost by only two at Hononegah.

No. 3 Boylan (23-4, 14-2) has won 19 consecutive games, including a dominating 69-54 victory over Hononegah on Jan. 31.

"That gained our team so much confidence," said Kayla Steward, who scored 31 points for Boylan in that win. "I knew some of the Hononegah girls from my AAU team and they were very humble. They had respect for us and came up and hugged us. It felt so great to be the talk of the league by ending Hononegah's 58-game (conference) win streak."

Boylan definitely comes in with the hottest hand.

"It's going to be tough, but I think we're up for the challenge," point guard Jensen Blassage said. "Our team can definitely do it."

The Titans have a more well-rounded team than in the past couple of years.

Auburn has consistently been the second- or third-best team in the NIC-10 the past seven years, but still has never won a conference title or a regional title since 1987.

"Boylan and Hononegah have been playing strong and we've been playing strong, so it's gong to be a really tough one," Auburn coach Zay Hoover said. "That's a tough regional every year. It's always tough."

While Auburn and Boylan meet Tuesday, Hononegah (23-7, 15-1) will play the winner between Monday's Harlem vs. Guilford game. The Indians beat both Boylan and Auburn when star forward Karley Kolberg was out with a broken finger, but lost to Boylan after she returned. Center Emily Gorsch is also back after missing a couple of weeks with a high ankle sprain.

"This is the healthiest we've been all year," Hononegah coach Randy Weibel said. "Gorsch was playing the best basketball of her career before she got hurt. It's taken her a couple of weeks to round into form."

Weibel said all of Hononegah's mistakes in the Boylan loss are correctable.

"That's the good part. Now it's up to our kids to correct it," he said. "This is what they've been practicing for since November. I think they'll be up to the challenge."

Jefferson Regional

Huntley is the overwhelming favorite at Jefferson, where DeKalb, Belvidere North, East and Jefferson are the No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 seeds. Huntley finished fourth in the state last year and returned its two leading scorers and rebounders, 6-foot sisters Sam and Ali Andrews.